no one can be sure if the white house and congress will steer the country away from that so called fiscal cliff, which now is just 24 days away. but it's probably a good idea for you and your family to be prepared just in case. earlier, i spoke with stephanie rule of bloomberg tv about what could happen if the deal is not reached. >> people talk about the cliff like it's this major event, which it is. but almost like a y2k. from a paycheck perspective, you will see less money in your paycheck if we do fall off the cliff. but as far as the economy goes, it's not really a cliff, one specific act. it's going to be more like a slope and we are going to see most likely an economic slowdown where jobs are going to slow down because we're not going to see companies expand, we're not going to be seeing them grow. and this economy that we've been hoping to see a recovery could really head in the other direction, but it's not something we're going to see january 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. it's really overthe long haul. >> people hear you say lower paychecks. what about the tax hike? >> it's a negative. peo